Thursday, June 16, 2016

St. Mark’s Students Raise $3,200 to Send Kenyan Children to School

Palm Beach Gardens, FL – This
spring, the Rev. Jim Cook spoke to St. Mark’s students about the plight of
Kenyan school children. “There are so
many young people in Kenya who dream of going to high school,” explained Fr.
Cook. “And yet, they are living in
circumstances of harsh poverty, very often unable to afford tuition expenses.
These young people often live in large families with a parent or grandparent
struggling to provide life’s basic necessities.”

Fr. Cook challenged students to
raise money through the end of the school year to help send Kenyan children to
school through contributions to the Mama Ada Foundation.

On Friday, June 3, during
the last Eucharist service of the school year, Ellie Blain and Skylar Hines,
eighth grade students and National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) officers,
presented a check to Fr. Cook; more than $3,200 was raised in support of the challenge!
Lower school students have been contributing to the ministry since the
beginning of the second semester, and a portion of the proceeds from the middle
school snack cart is given annually in support of the Mama Ada Foundation.

As Fr. Cook explained, it
costs approximately $350 to send a Kenyan child to school for a year. The goal,
between the lower school and the middle school, was to raise enough money to
send 10 children to school. Students
were invited to bring in contributions on a weekly basis to be collected at
lower school Chapel on Wednesdays and at Eucharist on Fridays for both lower
and middle school students.

For information
about the Mama Ada Foundation, visit their website at: